damned_institute | Day 31: Intercom, Evening

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Day 31: Intercom, Evening

The intercom's jingle came on with its usual overly-cheery quality, echoing through the halls and doctors' offices.

"I trust, as always, that you all enjoyed the last shift and that all the staff-patient interaction went smoothly. Of course, we're nearing the end of another day and so we must begin to bring things to a close. Nurses and orderlies, please escort all the patients to their respective rooms and make sure everyone gets their dinner--which is, by the way, chicken teriyaki and assorted tempura, along with rice and miso soup--before they retire for the night. A vegetarian substitute is of course available, and we have our usual assortment of drinks; we also have a special of hot green tea to go along with the meal.

"Thank you, everyone, for an exceedingly pleasant day, and our therapy sessions will continue tomorrow as scheduled. Enjoy your dinner, and I will be on again before bedtime to say goodnight."

The announcement ended.

[ As always, individual dinner threads go in response to this post, and it helps to put your character's room number in the subject line. Thanks! ]

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Haku smiled. "Information if something I'm always after. But I would have been pleased with him not attacking us."

He tucked his legs up on his bed and smiled. "Have you learned anything interesting about this place? Made it downstairs at all?"

"Oh!" Artemis realized he'd left out that part. "Yes, last night I went into the basement..."

His tone was rather uncomfortable. "I was expecting something rather different than what I found." His eyes drifted down to his hands as he recalled it. "A giant... ballroom. It's a place where aristocrats and people of high standing hold large dance parties. It was ornate, but completely empty. There was no reason for it to be down there--none at all."

He steepled his fingers in thought, wondering how to best phrase this. "I don't say this very often, and I didn't say it at the time, but it unnerved me. I had a strange feeling in my throat that told me I was in over my head--drowning in something I couldn't understand. And at the same time, completely exposed to my foe without the slightest hope of defending myself from his seemingly boundless insanity."

The fact that Landel kept the things Artemis had seen below a mental institution was reason enough for Artemis to be unnerved, in his book. Someone who was insane to this standard would no doubt be highly unpredictable and dangerous, in Artemis' mind.

He blinked, realizing he'd rambled. "Ah, apologies, I get started on trains of thought and they don't... stop."

Haku was quiet for a while, digesting this new information.

"It owuld seem that we are all in over our heads, so to speak, from the moment we arrived here. Knowing that our captor is utterly mad does nothing for us. Of course, perhaps there is a reason for it to be there. We don't know what it is yet.

Why else would he want us to see it?"

"Very true..." Artemis agreed. "There must be a reason for it, unless the purpose is just to give us environmental shock. Which, obviously, happened to me. But it probably wouldn't have much of an effect on anyone who didn't know what it was." He hadn't thought of that before. So there must have been another reason.

"The next thing I came upon was a hall of armor. Nine suits. One of them I was intimately familiar with. It was something that a friend of mine always wore--a perfect replica, I believe. The armor wasn't able to be removed, but the weapons were. Unfortunately, when we moved into the next room, the ones I had taken disappeared, and Abarai-san was left with one sword.

"The room was filled with moving practice dummies and suits of armor. He fought them, but when I tried, I was thrown backwards into the wall..." The memory made him grimace slightly. "I'm not sure what happened afterwards... I was unconscious for the rest of the fight."

Haku leaned back on his bed, supporting himself with his arms as he thought.

"There must be a reason he was allowed one, and you weren't allowed the others..." He shook his head. "There's just not enough there to really go on though. We'll have to gather more data."

He smiled. "I am glad you've found another person to travel with, if you keep being hurt like this..."

Artemis gave a nervous laugh, "It was entirely my own fault. I reasoned that since nothing was moving, we could move across the room. One of the suits of armor surprised me and I attacked it. Before my sword even touched it, I was thrown back. There wasn't anything anyone could have done..."

He looked uncomfortable, "It wasn't their fault, I promise."

Haku shook his head. "I didn't say it was their fault. It's not your fault either." He smiled and, without warning, lightly tossed his pillow at his roommate's head.

"Relax and lighten up a bit. Tonight will be like an adventure for you. I look forward to hearing about it."

"Hey!" Artemis laughed as he shielded himself from the pillow with his arms. He immediately snatched it up.

"Well, you won't get to hear any of it if you assault me again with your pillow!" He grinned evilly, "Which shouldn't be a problem, seeing as now I hold control over both of the pillows in this room~"

"Ah, but can you actually manage to hit me with one?" Haku spread his hands. "You are but a novice in the art of pillow manipulation."

Good. Artemis needed to loosen up a bit. Being nervous and worried before a misson never ended well.

"Oh, you think so? Well," Artemis stood up on his bed, a pillow in each hand. "Unfortunately for you, Haku, I studied the fine art of Pillow-Jutsu, and you shall be my first victim!" He pointed dramatically down at Haku with one of the pillows.

"Prepare yourself, knave!" He grinned.

"Knave?" Haku laughed, and didn't move from his relaxed-seeming posture on his bed. "I will have you know that I've studied Pillow-Jutsu for many years. It is one of the first and oldest techniques taught in my village.

Go on. I dare you."

"Insolent whelp!" Artemis cried, playing his role to the hilt, apparently. "I shall show you some respect!"

And with a rather loud cry, he leapt from his bed onto Haku's and brought both pillows down on his roommate. "Take that!"

Haku was moving as soon as he spotted the tensing of muscles in Artemis' legs. He rolled down onto his back and brought both hands up, each seizing a pillow before they could hit him.

Gently, and carefully, he hooked a foot around one of his roommate's legs and tugged, positioning the attack so that the other boy would fall harmlessly on the bed, rather than to the floor.

"Who needs to learn respect now?"

"Ah!" Artemis' center of gravity went out the window and he fell backwards onto the bed, successfully de-pillowed. He was disoriented for a moment, but regained his role after a few moments.

"I-Impossible! How could someone defeat me so quickly? I spent years perfecting that technique!"

Haku moved and stood up on his bed. "That is because I am the true master of Pillow-jutsu. You never had a chance against me!" Haku posed triumphantly.

"Come back in a few more decades."

"Lies! All of it!" Artemis cried, pulling himself up. "I won't be defeated so easily! Especially by someone who makes such broad statements!" He jumped up at Haku, grabbing for one of the pillows. "I won't lose!"

Haku turned gracefully and stepped off of the bed, releasing a pillow and making a show of it.

"Ah!" He stood on the floor, looking up at Artemis. "We are evenly armed.... But never evenly matched. Come at me!"

"We shall see about that!" Artemis said with a grin. "En guarde!"

He jumped off the bed and swung the pillow in a wide arc at Haku. He was rather clumsy about it, but it was a game, after all. "We shall see who is the true master in this fight to the death!"

Haku laughed, turning and allowing the pillow to smack into his side. "Ah! A hit! Curse you," he said right back. As he moved backwards though, he swung his own pillow in a lower, tighter arc, intending to catch his roommate's side as well.

"Aha! I am not so unskilled as you previously imagined! Such an underestimation of my skills will--" He took the pillow to the side before he could evade.

"Curses! Interrupting my monologue! I will teach you some manners, dog!" He was running out of arcane insults. Artemis raised his pillow over his head and brought it down lightly towards Haku's head.

Haku watched the pillow come down and hit his head. "No!" He fell to the floor. "How could this be? Defeated by a novice? All my training for naught." He clutched his chest for a dramatic 'death' scene.

"You have bested me, but I will be back for revenge!" He lobbed the pillow up at his friend's head again.

"Ha ha! Come back when you have learned--!" The pillow hit him in the face. He laughed and fell to his knee.

"A worthy opponent indeed. I look forward to the day we cross pillows again. Until then, young master, I shall cherish this small victory."

Haku couldn't keep a straight face any longer. He started to laugh, covering his mouth with one hand.

"I am a ninja," he managed to gasp. "You had best sleep with one eye open, lest I," he chuckled again. "Lest I come at you in your sleep."

"Oh no!" Artemis gasped in mock-horror, "I'm doomed! I could never master the art of sleeping with one eye open! And it's never been mastered in less than a day! I shall have to start immediately!"

He lay down on his pillow and shut one of his eyes. "...this is rather uncomfortable," He laughed. "I shall just have to be attacked, I suppose."

Haku stood and moved quietly over to where Artemis lay. "A shame," he said, expression school to look down on his roommate with pity. "For I am not only a Master of Pillow-Jutsu... I have also extensivly studied .... Tickle-Jutsu!"

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